Fragile Tension
by Winter Sapphire
Summary: Claire can't feel pain, but she can feel something else. Paire.


Title: Fragile Tension  
Characters/Paring: Peter/Claire, slight Angela and (Sylar?) Nathan.  
Rating: PG  
Word Count: 1270  
Spoilers/Warnings: For the finale of V4, I guess? XD  
Summary: Claire can't feel pain, but she can feel something else.  
Disclaimer: So I got this idea a while ago, actually, when listening to "Car Crash" by Matt Nathanson... and when I saw the challenge I knew I had to write it. It turned out nothing like I planned and the beginning might make it seem like more is going to happen between them, but... well, it's a subtle thing. _ You'll see, I guess. Written for **pairechallenge**, obviously. c: Also, first part is in past tense but the others are all in present tense (I think...), as an FYI. I also tried not using any direct "dialogue" between Peter and Claire, and very little with the other characters... as an experiment. XD So yes.

* * *

It all started out innocently enough. She had knocked furiously on his door one evening, tears streaming down her face as she stumbled and stuttered through an explanation involving _Sylar_ and _pain_ and how she had been leaning on the stove and hadn't even realized it was on until she smelled her own flesh burning. Peter stared at her, hard, before closing the door quietly behind them both.

It had all seemed perfectly acceptable at the time. It hadn't been the first time he had wiped away her tears, and it hadn't been the first time he had hugged her. But it _had_ been the first time he had whispered anything in her ear, and the kiss to her forehead had come so naturally he hadn't even thought twice about it.

The way Claire had relaxed against him should have been the first clue, and when she had gripped him closer he _should_ have known that this could be the start of something much bigger than either of them realized.

But at that moment all Peter could think about was Claire, and Claire's tears and Claire's pain at not being able to _feel_ the only thing that made her feel human. So he held her, never thought twice, and never looked back.

-------

It becomes a routine. A Thursday afternoon she's riding her bike in Central Park and one wrong turn sends her crashing into a tree; a healed fractured skull and a broken arm later and she's running towards him in the hospital he worked for, throwing herself into his arms without hesitation.

One Saturday morning she's hanging out around Nathan's pool, and he sees her from the kitchen window as she trips on the diving board, tumbling off to the side and cracking her neck against the edge of the pool with a sickening _crunch_ that can be heard even through the closed glass. He's out the door and pulling her out of the pool before her neck can heal, and Peter doesn't care that the water from the pool is soaking his clothes or that she isn't wearing anything but a bathing suit. He just holds her, whispering words into her ear as she folds into his embrace with a soft sigh that he can't quite read.

Another time is when she's cooking dinner for both of her families. He's lounging in the living room reading a book when he hears her curse loudly from the kitchen. Peter stands hastily to his feet, and he knows Claire hates to have other people in the kitchen when she cooks but he can't help but enter it. His gaze is curious but worried as he approaches her, and though she seems fine (she always does) the way her shoulders sag tells him that something happened. The bloodied fragment of a finger that's still sitting in the sink next to an equally bloody knife tells him all he needs to know.

She's _sick_ of this, she tells him as he draws her closer and runs his hands up and down her back. He knows it, he knows and wishes he could do anything--_anything_--to make it better, but what can he do?

Claire's not crying, but her face is buried into his neck as she whispers that he already does make it better. And just like that, the pieces fall into place.

Just like that he realizes just what they are and just what they've become.

-------

Claire doesn't know what it is. It had been on a pure whim that she had shown up at his apartment that one night months and months ago, but it had been that whim that made her realize that somehow he was able to make the fact that she couldn't feel pain seem like less of a burden. It's hard to remember that it's been lost when he makes her feel so much _more_.

It's a subtle thing, a tingle to her skin that starts wherever he touches her and spreads throughout her body with a glowing warmth. She knows it's not much, but it's enough for her. It's enough to erase everything else, even if it's just for a moment.

For Claire, that moment is all she needs.

-------

She startles Nathan while he's shaving one morning, and her biological father jumps in surprise. Claire can clearly see the blade nick the corner of his chin. She can clearly see it heal seconds later.

"Shit, Claire. You scared me. What is it?" he says, glancing back at the mirror after a moment. His expression is a mixture of shock and confusion as he rubs his fingers over his chin. "Huh. I could've sworn I cut myself." He shakes his head, mumbling something she can't quite hear, and then he's turning to face her again.

Claire shakes her head, spits out a quick _nevermind_, and hurries away before he can respond.

She's forgotten how much pain can hurt, and the hole it's tearing in her chest is leaving a feeling so raw and unrefined that she almost can't get Peter's address out of her mouth when she hails the closest taxi.

-------

His mind is blank and he's never felt more numb. He knows Claire's still staring at him, that he hasn't moved or spoken since she relayed what she saw to him. He's not sure what to think, not sure if he even can think.

It must be an hour later when he finally manages to twist himself away and reach for the phone. He dials his mother's number quickly, motions for Claire to get closer as it starts to ring. She picks up on the third ring--always the third, never the first or second.

"Angela Petrelli."

Peter doesn't speak right away, isn't really sure what to say to her, but his voice is dangerously low when he asks her if she knew this entire time.

His mother must know exactly what he means because her silence speaks more than words ever could.

"Yes, Peter," she finally says in that carefully-controlled tone he's grown to despise ever since that fateful night in November. "I know. But he doesn't, and I suggest you keep it that way unless you want a monster returning to prowl the streets of New York."

There's a click, and the line hums to silence.

-------

Her voice is hesitant and soft when she speaks his name, as if anything more forceful will shatter whatever's left of him. He barely moves, shifts towards her just a little while keeping his head bowed low, but it's enough for her. She reaches up to touch his face, hand shaking, and she can feel that spark--that subtle little tingle touching her fingertips and slowly spreading down her arm and through her body.

He must feel it too, something she was never really sure of until now, because he glances up at her in shock, moves his hand up to cover hers as the tears finally start spilling out of his eyes. A moment later he's clutching her to him, crying heart-wrenching sobs into her shoulder. This time it's her that's whispering to him, wrapping her arms around his middle and crying softly into the crook of his neck.

The ache in her chest from losing Nathan, Peter's tears stinging against her skin... they bring the most pain she's felt in all her life.

But his arms around her, firm and strong even when he's weak... somehow they let her know that they'll be okay, together, even if the rest of the world dissolves into madness around them.

* * *

A bit of an explanation regarding Peter discovering what "they are", because I just realized I kinda left that part hanging and I know not everyone can read between lines... He realized that the reason Claire always turns to him is because of love, and he realizes that he loves her too. He doesn't try to run from it or fight it or anything, but it's just a realization. He plans not to act on anything, but still be there for her the way she needs him, though with the end of this they may need each other more than he could have realized. XD;

--WS


End file.
